Reformed. Christianity. Evangelism. Modern Culture.
Excerpt from Crossing cultures in Scripture:Biblical principles in Mission:
Perhaps up to 800 years of Adam’s 930 (Gen 5: 5) were spent watching human culture deteriorate from the perfection that he and Eve once enjoyed. He experienced the heartbreak of a murdered son and of another being a castaway (Gen 4: 15-16). His heart was grieved as he witnessed his descendants sliding deeper into a culture of “sexual immorality, impurity , sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies” (Gal 5: 19-21). What a contrast to that perfect pre-sin wholesome culture of “love, joy, peace , patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal 5: 22-23)!
It is therefore no wonder that when one preaches the gospel to the ultra modern millenial or the most savage unreached tribe and they come to a realisation of their helpless state, both are anxious to free themselves from their degraded cultural practices. The light of the gospel brings them hope.
Oh how wonderful it is to hear that even though we like sheep have gone astray, each one in his own way -the Lord has laid on Christ the iniquity of us all.
Amen!
By Charles Spurgeon
An evil is in the professed camp of the Lord, so gross in its impudence, that the most shortsighted can hardly fail to notice it during the past few years. It has developed at an abnormal rate, even for evil. It has worked like leaven until the whole lump ferments. The devil has seldom done a cleverer thing than hinting to the church that part of their mission is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view to winning them. Read More
Death – O how cruel you are! I recently lost my sister (at 4.00am on 11th October 2013), Miss Winnie Amaguru, just a few days after her thirty ninth birthday and the last couple of days have been tough. The funeral service preparations and preparations for burial have had a physical and emotional drain on me. Yet in all this I am seeing the providential hand of God’s comfort.
In the next few days I will be travelling from London back to Uganda where I will present the body to the rest of the family. We intend to give my sister a decent burial and thank God for the short time He loaned her to us. …Read More!
An interesting look at a question that the Heidelberg Catechism addresses…
Q. Since Christ has died for us, why do we still have to die?
A. Our death does not pay the debt of our sins. Rather, it puts an end to our sinning and is our entrance into eternal life.
Theological: For the believer in Jesus Christ, death is transformed. What used to be a just penalty for sin has become a portal into a fuller version of eternal life. O death, where thy sting? O grave, where thy victory? This, like so much Christian verity, must be approached in faith. The death of the righteous (from a biological point of view) looks the same as the death of the wicked. Having recently sat by the bed of my dying father, however, I can tell you that death for the Christian is a bitter wonder, a nasty joy. There’s More…
This is a common question that people usually ask. I like the answer that Got Questions? features:
Answer: The Bible does not give any explicit teaching on whether pets/animals have “souls” or whether pets/animals will be in heaven. However, we can use general biblical principles to develop some clarity on the subject. The Bible states that both man (Genesis 2:7) and animals (Genesis 1:30; 6:17; 7:15, 22) have the breath of life. The primary difference between human beings and animals is that humanity is made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27), while animals are not. Being made in the image and likeness of God means that human beings are like God, capable of spirituality, with mind, emotion, and will, and they have a part of their being that continues after death. If pets/animals do have a “soul” or immaterial aspect, it must therefore be of a different and lesser “quality.” This difference possibly means that pet/animal “souls” do not continue in existence after death. …Read More!
The opening ceremony of the Olympics in every host nation always tells the story of … whatever! The Summer 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony celebrations were whatever you wanted to make of them. That may sound post modern but look, we all got what ever we wanted. Didn’t we? Booms, blasts and Bond! Oh yes, we even saw Her Majesty become a Bond girl. There was a high speed river chase in a super boat. An adrenaline pumping helicopter dash with a heroine leaping into a gaping hole of pyrotechnics. Industrial action (pun intended)! Health care service was given a make over. Ancient pagan worship and modern dance entertained us with one titillating love story. Or so we thought. Even the conspiracy theorists got enough fodder when they saw Illuminati pyramids surround the arena. How about the Christians? Well there was the Christian hymn “Abide in me” to keep conservatives happy. It was a vague after-note some still say after it was edited out by American media. The bigger story was to be a diverse celebration of Life, humanity and death.
Speaking of which do we ever think of life here after? Maybe the answer was hidden in the tallest animated symbol of all in the Olympics stadium. Do you mean the hideously monstrous “death” effigy?
We all have an appointment with death. It’s an appointment that will not be delayed and will never be postponed. As a Christian father I have had to speak to my children about death. Taught them it is part of the consequence of the fall and sin. Reminded them that even their daddy has sinned and one day they will bury their daddy or their daddy may bury them. We usually attend funerals as a family and mourn with friends and family who have lost a loved one. We also take that time to encourage them in the Lord (that we do not mourn though as those who have no hope but in Christ death is just a temporary separation of soul and body). Ryan Burns has also learnt something about death. In an interesting post he says:
I was reading Michael Horton’s new book, The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way, and that line struck me. Death is an enemy, not a friend. Perhaps it is my longing to be with Christ (Php 1:23) or my love for the song “I’ll fly away,” I often, in the life of a Christian, forget that death is still an enemy. I found Horton’s comments encouraging and helpful.
Part of the curse is the separation of the soul from body (Ge 2:17; 3:19, 22; 5:5;Ro 5:12; 8:10; 1co 15:21). Death is an enemy, not a friend (1Co 15:26) and a terror (Heb 2:15), so horrible that even the one who would triumph over it was overcome with grief, fear, and anger at the tomb of his friend Lazarus (Jn 11:33-36). Jesus did not see death as a portal to “a better life.” Looking death in the eye, he saw it for what it was, and his disciples followed his example.After the deacon’s martyrdom, we read, “Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentations over him” (Ac 8:2). the reason that believers do not mourn as those who have no hope (1Th 4:14) is not that they know death is good, but that
“There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and 
herds, but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. Now there came a traveller to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”
For some this story is familiar; well it is Nathan the prophet having a chat with King David. David has just made a royal cover up and taken Bathsheba as his wife after arranging the murder of her husband, Uriah. This was against a back drop of an adulterous affair. Nathan, first indulges the king in a intriguing allegory. (2 Sam 12)
David listens intently to the story and on hearing of such a gross miscarriage of justice tells Nathan in no uncertain terms, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”
Nathan then sadly tells David, “You are that man!”
A 2008 survey of behaviours with moral overtones among adults conducted by The Barna Group over a one week period revealed that 19% of adults had viewed pornography, 11% had lied, 9% had engaged in sexual intercourse with someone to whom Read More
Just got my latest (and yes, smokin’ hot) copy of the month’s Table Talk Magazine. The topic that has caught my attention is the one that causes the greatest of fears upon most pastors. Harry Reeder III has an interesting article that asks:
How do you preach the gospel at funerals for unbelievers? First, you must be committed to doing it. Second, you have to be compassionate while doing it. The implications will be obvious to any who listen what you are thoughtfully yet pointedly saying about the gospel. The eternal state of the unbeliever who has died is revealed by the truth of the gospel. Let’s be clear. We are not called to make pronouncements about a person’s soul any more than we are allowed to make false assurances concerning his eternal state. …Read More!
"Alexamenos worships his god"-Alexamenos Graffito
The Alexamenos graffito discovered in 1857 also known as the graffito blasfemo is an inscription carved in plaster on a wall near the Palatine Hill in Rome. It is generally thought to be the earliest known pictorial representation of the crucifixion of Jesus.The crude drawing in no uncertain terms depicts the said Alexamenos worshipping a Bart-Simpson-esque man with a head of an ass. Comical…but sadly blasphemous.
I wonder if Alexamenos was a christian. I wonder if it was a work mate or a former lover who engraved the repugnant inscription. Could it have been a self portrait in his moments of soul searching? But There’s More
3 Dots of an Ellipsis
So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or …”–Matt 27:17 ESV
An ellipsis is a mark or series of marks that usually indicate an intentional omission of a word or a phrase from the original text. An ellipsis can also be used to indicate a pause in speech, an unfinished thought, or, at the end of a sentence, a trailing off into silence. An ellipsis calls for a slight pause in speech. But There’s More
We many times moan and whinge when things do not go right. We grit our teeth at God when we see a maze before our eyes. Have you ever thought of the sovereignty of God? Have you ever understood the mind of God? May this testimony of John Farese be an encouragement. Crippled for most of his life but proundly sober in his understanding of God’s sovereignty and scripture:
I remember when I wrestled with the Spirit of God. I (yes teeny weenie me) in one corner and the Omnipotent, Transcendent and Almighty in the other. But who has never fought against God after hearing the gospel? Or was it a bout with myself -my old man so to speak? The gospel seems to go against the very grain of our humanity. It asserts that man is broken and helpless. It asserts that we are dead in sin and cannot of our selves change that nature. To underscore this very important fact God gave us the Ten Commandments as a moral code. Try as you may to obey one commandment and you break all. Break one and you find you easily break the rest. The easiest thing is to harden your heart and resist any demands of the Law. Read More
About a year ago I started blogging. I wrote mostly about things pertinent to my Christian walk. Things like disregard for sound Biblical doctrine, fads and gimmicks being used in church today. My discontentment stemmed from the fact that I seemed to be the biggest hypocrite. I had lived over 15 years of my Christian life with little regard for doctrine. Or atleast cared less. Every Sunday I went back to church and we seemed to go through the same routine. This last one year has been an intensive boot camp journey that has seen me make new friends and change churches and discover not only the doctrines of grace but also become enthusiastic about sound biblical doctrine in my pursuit to know God more. But who can comprehend the mind of God?
Which brings me to my point today -God. Remember Saul setting out to look for his father’s lost donkeys one morning (1 Samuel 9)? He didn’t have the least inkling who he was going to meet that day. Neither did he know that a prophet was going to cross his path and tell him that he was the one God was going to anoint to be the first king of Israel. The Bible clearly tells us that this unfathomable God is involved in the very events around the mortal beings he created and He is knowable. God draws people to Himself through several mundane events. So we see He drew Saul to the right place and at the right time he met Samuel the prophet. Now, with this concept in mind that God is alive and He is involved in even the minutest of events around us, meet a good friend of mine called Kathy, a hijab wearing American (not any more though). This is her extra ordinary testimony. A gracious journey to repentance and faith in Christ: Now Read On
There was a time when Christians rejoiced when they read the newspapers and heard of great things that God was doing in far away lands. Things like missionaries giving thanks that despite being in constant threat from the wild beasts and hostile cannibal tribes lives were being changed by the gospel. God was doing mighty things through his divine providence and supplying all their needs and despite the present troubles they were waxing stronger and bolder for the cause of the gospel till the work is done. It seems such courage and zeal for the things of God has been long forgotten. The supposed men of God these days hardly break into a sweat carrying a Bible, let alone preach from it. The name of the game is ‘Get rich or die trying.’ Read More
No one sets out to become an apostate – it’s never the result of one abrupt, drastic turn away from the Lord. Instead, apostasy is most often the product of a pattern of sinful compromises that harden and gradually steer a professing believer away from the truth. There’s More
Dr Leroy Thompson
For those who do not know, I grew up believing in the Word of Faith/ Prosperity gospel. Yes Jesus died for your sins, proponents will agree in passing. But also (they will quickly add) he surely died to make you healthy and wealthy hence the adage the ‘health and wealth’ gospel. Any time the Gospel of Christ is alterred or diluted, it will always be substituted with a form of works righteousness. A set of things to do to achieve a higher level of righteousness, justification, anointing or endearment to God. There’s More
By Jim Bublitz (OldTruth.com)
Quoting AW Pink . . .
There is such a “falling away” in the number of genuine conversions — we say “genuine” conversions because there are multitudes of those who come forward to shake some popular preacher by the hand, multitudes of card-signers, [hand-raisers] etc., etc. Hence it is that there has been such a sad and such a wide-spread “falling away” from the old time family worship. Hence it is that we now witness such a lamentable “falling away” from the mid-week prayer-meeting. Hence it is that there is such an awful “falling away” …. Hence it is that there is such a fearful “falling away” from the moral standards of former days. Hence it is that there is now such an ever-growing “falling away” from Sunday School attendance all over the land. Yes, the “falling away” has commenced and is already far advanced. There’s More
Many people celerbrate Yom Kippur but what does it really mean? What is this ‘Day of Atonement’ stuff? Well thanks for asking. Todd Bolen takes you in a nine minute session. How did the Messiah fulfill the role of God’s sacrificial lamb atoning for the sins of the world? Hold onto your seats:
The Sacrificial Lamb
Stephen William Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA, the world’s most beloved British theoretical physicist and cosmologist has officially declared that he has made God redundant. God did not even create the universe, Stephen Hawking revealed recently. To put an end to this God once and for all he has written a book The Grand Design.
What are we in for now? Evolution or Desolation?
It is perhaps a bit rich for Hawking to make Read More
Thrones of gods?
Since the fall of man from grace in the Garden of Eden, Adam’s descendants have battled thistles and thorns, sweated for bread and battled the aging process that constantly reminds them of their mortality.
This week began with a doctor’s letter for my wife to go for a medical check up. Something to do with the usual blood pressure check, urine analysis and blood tests. Then I came across this article that could answer all our problems at one seating. The i- toilet: But There’s More
The leaves are slowly turning golden, the year is far gone. One sure way of keeping track of summer is to wait for the Notting Hill carnival in London. It officially reminds you that the good old summer sunshine has ebbed. Since 1966, this annual celebration has united the West Indian community and attracted millions from all over the world. The atmosphere has always been colourful and vibrant with steel drum bands, calypso, reggae and everything Caribbean. Not to forget the aromatic food as the crowds sing along to Bob Marley’s No woman, no cry. But There’s More
Is there still any reverence for the Holy and sacred things of God these days? What ever happened to the good old sermons about sin, righteousness and judgement? They called some of these ‘fire and brimstone’ sermons and phased them out of most churches, radios and television. Have you ever listened to Jonathan Edwards’ sermon ‘Sinners in the hands of an angry God’? Not even so called christian broad casters feature such sermons any more. These sermons are deemed ‘volatile’ and dont draw ratings they say. But they make a fatal error as they gladly proclaim a new gospel. One that is billed as the best thing since sliced bread called Gospel lite -the health, wealth and prosperity gospel.
Flip to a typical modern christian church sermon broad cast and what do you see? A young man who should be a pastor struts around an arena with spandex and jiggles as he lays his closed bible on the Plexiglass pulpit that casts a silhouette against the laser lit giant screen behind him. It’s Sunday and the topic is self esteem and positive confession…for the fifty second time that year. ‘This is our year of destiny’ reads the banner that has always been flown year in and year out. New visitors and tourists stagger in awe as they trudge through the church programme.The message elates them and sure enough tickles their fancy enough to bring them back But There’s More
It’s been coming and soon it will be here. Crowd control has always been a nightmare since the days of the ‘brood of vipers’ open air sermons of John the Baptist to the modern day children’s trampoline tea and biscuit parties of a pastor’s wife. Many delighted mega church ushers seemed to jump for joy this week supposing they had landed themselves a useful gadget in ultimate crowd control but stopped mid air as police in the UK seized large numbers of a gadget that has been supposedly dubbed ‘the ushers touch’.
A MILLION-volt stun gun disguised as a mobile phone is being smuggled into Britain by criminals. Potentially-lethal K95s are 24 TIMES more powerful than a police Taser. But There’s More
Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
“Pastor is it OK to sell a Bible to a prostitute?” the story is told of a young girl called Laura from a small church in a small town in central Brazil. She sold Avon products for years in the town to supplement the family income. One of her weekly routes took her through the red light district. With those business contacts she often shared her faith in Jesus Christ.
God opened a door to present Bibles and Christian books in a house of prostitutes. Oddly enough, the house was located directly across the road from a large evangelical church. Ten of these women gathered around a table one afternoon as Laura shared with them the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. A few Bibles and some books containing testimonies of transformed lives were sold that afternoon.
Several months later there were terrible rains and floods in that part of Brazil, causing several deaths. With the floods came mudslides in communities that had been inundated by the rising rivers. Two prostitutes who had attended the book demonstration earlier that year talked about the danger and decided to read the Bible Read More
Anne Rice, the renowned American author of gothic, erotic, and religious-themed books has on her Face Book page un-liked Roman Catholicism and as it is Christianity. It’s yet to be seen if she will be de-baptised. A de-baptism is a mystic ceremony usually said to be carried out by symbolically drying up water off your fore head -with a blow drier. Thats not all, you can also get a certificate commemorating this dark slap stick mockery.
For those who care, and I understand if you don’t: Today I quit being a Christian. I’m out. I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being “Christian” or to being part of Christianity. It’s simply impossible for me to “belong” Read More
I have had my fair share of fads in Christendom. Like a wild eyed tornado chaser I have trudged and raced against the waves and later lapped up every breeze like a lazy dog sticking its tongue out of the window of a car into the rushing country side winds. Revival however has been the most elusive of all fads. Ask any Christian today what revival is and you will get a myriad of answers. Ranging from revival being a warm fuzzy sensation (revival fire) that triggers a chilling convulsion of goose bumps (revival rain), a force that swings you from the chandeliers and throws you across the room till you fall down flat on your face motionless. But There’s More
By Patrick Ersig
I have been looking at the possibility that a Kundalini spirit, possibly the main or head spirit, has masked itself as Christian and infiltrated many charismatic circles and (was) in full operation down in Florida and has worked in past in Toronto and Brownsville. Here is a compilation of some of my findings – I think the similarities are more than coincidence – what do you think? There’s More
Ray Comfort, Living Waters
I was with our team at Huntington Beach last Saturday when I noticed some teenagers with signs that said, “FREE HUGS.” It turns out that they were a Christian group sharing “God’s love” with strangers, by giving them a hug. I asked the leader if the kids shared the gospel with the strangers they hugged. They didn’t. It was “relationship evangelism.” Yes, they were going to Hell if they died in their sins, but they didn’t want to be pushy. I encouraged him to have his team at least give out tracts to those they hugged, but he was in a hurry Read More
Heidelberg Catechism #42
A Twisted Crown of Thorns ® 